Thursday, 29 May 2014

Susan Carland and Waleed Aly are exactly the type of people you’d want at your dinner party: intelligent, outspoken, engaging, charming, funny. Add Australian accents to that package and you’ve won me over in a second.

Independently of each other, married couple Carland and Aly often serve as the public faces of Islam in Australia. Aly, 35, is a broadcaster who hosts multiple shows on both radio and TV, covering news events ranging from politics to entertainment to sports. Carland, 34, is often called on by the media to write articles or give interviews discussing her academic work on the intersection of feminism and Islam. The duo’s friends jokingly refer to them as the “Muslim Brangelina,” and it’s easy to see why. They are young, good-looking, fashionably-dressed and charitable. Like Brangelina, except sans Hollywood and plus two upcoming Ph.Ds.

Monday, 26 May 2014

Where is the concern for Palestinian children and their safety? Where is the social media campaign for#stopkillingourboys?

This shocking video shows the unprovoked, cold-blooded killings of two Palestinian teenagers, 17-year-old Nadim Siam Nuwara, and 16-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu al-Thahir on 15 May near Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank city of Beitunia.

The CCTV footage was captured by cameras mounted on the building where the incident took place, which is owned by Fakher Zayed.

“The images captured on video show unlawful killings where neither child presented a direct and immediate threat to life at the time of their shooting,” said Rifat Kassis, executive director of DCI-Palestine. “These acts by Israeli soldiers may amount to war crimes, and the Israeli authorities must conduct serious, impartial, and thorough investigations to hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.”

The boys were participating in a demonstration near Ofer military prison to mark Nakba Day and express solidarity with hunger striking prisoners currently held in administrative detention by Israel. The demonstration reportedly began peacefully and then turned violent when Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian youth.

The deaths on Thursday raise the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in 2014 to four, according to data collected by DCI-Palestine. Over 1,400 Palestinian children have been killed as a result of Israeli military and settler presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2000.

The Israeli military’s own regulations dictate that live ammunition must be used “only under circumstances of real mortal danger,” but the regulations are not enforced and frequently ignored by Israeli soldiers, according to research by DCI-Palestine.

Saturday, 24 May 2014

A Pakistani immigrant beat his wife to death in their Brooklyn home after she made the mistake of cooking him lentils for dinner instead of the hearty meal of goat meat that he craved, according to court papers.

Noor Hussain, 75, was so outraged over the vegetarian fare that he pummeled his wife, Nazar Hussain, 66, with a stick until she was a “bloody mess,” according to prosecutors and court papers.

“Defendant asked [his wife] to cook goat and [his wife] said she made something else,” the court papers indicated as Hussain’s murder trial opened on Wednesday.

“The conversation got louder and [his wife] disrespected defendant by cursing at defendant and saying motherf- -ker, and . . . defendant took a wooden stick and hit her with it on her arm and mouth.”

Defense attorney Julie Clark admitted Hussain beat his wife — but argued that he is guilty of only manslaughter because he didn’t intend to kill her. In Pakistan, Clark said, beating one’s wife is customary.

“He comes from a culture where he thinks this is appropriate conduct, where he can hit his wife,” Clark said in her opening statements at the Brooklyn Supreme Court bench trial. “He culturally believed he had the right to hit his wife and discipline his wife.”

Prosecutors, however, said Hussain meant for his wife to die.

“His intentions were to kill his wife,” Assistant District Attorney Sabeeha Madni said in court. “This was not a man who was trying to discipline his wife.”

Madni said that Hussain “brutally attacked his wife as she lay in her bed” — leaving deep lacerations on her head, arms and shoulders, and causing her brain to hemorrhage.

He beat her with a stick that the family had found in the street and used to stir their laundry in a washtub, the court papers state.

He then tried to clean up the blood that had splattered onto their bedroom wall before calling his son for help, Madni said.

“I killed her. Hurry up and come over,” Hussain told his son, according to prosecutors.

Madni also said Pakistani women who lived in the same building as the Hussains would testify about the beatings Nazar received at the hands of her husband.

“They have told us about years of abuse they witnessed,” Madni said.

Hussain met his wife in Pakistan and the couple married before moving to Brooklyn, prosecutors said.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

What a disgrace!! A great injustice and an example of oppression and patriarchy is woman was never Muslim her monther is Christian and she raised her Christian her Muslims father was absent!! Yet men decide she must ber Muslims and hasa apostasized! I'm so disgusted. A heavily pregnant young woman has been
sentenced to death in Sudan for renouncing Islam and marrying a
Christian man, in a case which has attracted global condemnation.

Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, 27, was told by a court in Khartoum she would
be hanged for committing apostasy by leaving Islam and becoming a
Christian. She was also sentenced to 100 lashes for marrying a
non-Muslim, which constitutes adultery under Sudanese law.
Mrs
Ibrahim is eight months pregnant and has been held since February in
Omdurman Federal Women’s Prison, north of Khartoum, with her
18-month-old son Martin. On Sunday she was told that she had three days
to recant her faith or face death, but appearing in court yesterday she
refused, saying she had always been a Christian.

According to human rights organisation Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Mrs Ibrahim was born in western Sudan to Muslim father and a
Christian mother. Her father left when she was six, so her mother raised
her as a Christian. She married Daniel Wani, a Christian from southern
Sudan who has US citizenship, in 2011.
The charity added that
three witnesses from western Sudan had travelled to the hearing to
testify that Mrs Ibrahim had always been a Christian, but were prevented
from giving evidence.

It is understood that the death sentence
will not be enacted for two years after she has given birth, but that
the punishment of 100 lashes could be carried out as soon as her baby is
born. Mrs Ibrahim’s lawyers are intending to launch an appeal, which
could take several months.

Monday, 19 May 2014

To be clear: There are plenty of great reasons to reject Hirsi Ali for an honorary degree besides the fact that she represents one extreme of the double-bind. Contrary to the claims by right-wing pundits, Hirsi Ali was rejected for an honorary degree at Brandeis University because she espouses deplorable positions, not because she’s a “critic of Islam.” And we need not invalidate or belittle her personal experience with gender violence to find her political positions and actions deplorable.

Take, for instance, her bigotry (She callsIslam“a destructive, nihilistic cult of death” and calledIslamophobiaa “myth”); or her militarism (“we are at war with Islam” and must “crush” the enemy with force); of course, her paranoia and fear-mongering (“there is infiltration of Islam in the schools and universities of the West”) is also illustrate of her unworthiness. There is also herhypocrisy(she’s a self-purported advocate for free speech but advocates the abolition of Muslim schools, saying “All Muslim schools. Close them down.”) And her apologetic stance towards right-wing terrorism, extremism, and fascism (she said Norwegian terroristAnders Breivik’s views were “censored” and that “he had no other choice but to use violence”) is yet another indicator of her views and politics.

Theseare the legitimate grounds upholding the reversal of Hirsi Ali’s honorary degree, not airing our dirty laundry. The real issue in the Brandeis debate is (or should be)herand not how people might interpret her.

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

Women are particularly discouraged from going to mosques on Fridays, the day for the congregational Muslim prayer when space is limited and arguments against women's participation are used to prevent crowding, authors of the report found. And when women feel unwelcome they may prefer to stay home to pray.

Farida Kabir, who lives in Brooklyn, only started going to mosques two years ago. Before that, her family members, who are from Bangladesh, told her that women don't go to mosques.

"They always told me to stay at home, especially my dad," Kabir told Women's eNews on the side of last week's discussion. "He was telling me that women don't go to masjid (mosque). You stay and pray at home and that's how it should be. That's how I grew up."

When she finally went to a mosque two years ago after she was married she felt unwelcome. "A man told me this is not the place to be, come back another time!"

Mosques are always open during prayer times but some stay open all day so Muslims can pray at any time of the day. The general understanding in Islam is to never turn a worshipper away.

The American Mosque Report 2011 found that mosques with women on their boards are less likely to use dividers between the sexes during prayer and have higher female attendance; 20 percent versus 13 percent at mosques that do not allow women on the board.

The problem of providing women with good prayer space is sometimes explained as a budgetary issue but Makki said it's more a matter of attitude.

"If a community is ideologically opposed to providing women access to sacred space, it doesn't matter how big their budget is--women will not have equitable facilities," Makki said. "If a community believes it is the prophetic tradition to provide women access to sacred space, even if their budget is tight, they will find a way to equitably accommodate female congregants."

Sunday, 11 May 2014

You repulsive vomitous excuse of a man.Human beings are not for sale. The girls belong to their own selves, belong to their own families and communities. You are nothing short of a thief.

This is a bastardization of Islam, of decency, of liberation, of all that is good and beautiful.

We are dealing with people’s children here. If we were dealing with property, it would be akin to someone breaking into another person’s home, stealing their property, and then stating that they are willing to sell the stolen material.

Except that we are not dealing with property. We are talking about human beings.

- See more at: http://omidsafi.religionnews.com/2014/05/05/276-enslaved-nigerian-girls-atrocity-boko-haram/#sthash.aNBk7UBy.dpuf

Tuesday, 6 May 2014

What is The Middle PathThe middle path is empty of desires - swerving to the far right or left, but one founded on balance - ease (when needed) and firmness (when needed). It is acquired by studying the Qura'n, tafsir, sirah, and sitting with scholars and communities who embody its spirit.

How to Achieve Wasatiyyah (Moderation)The first and most important thing is to realize that being guided to Islam is proof that Allah has giving you the start you need to build on moderation. By having faith you are half way there! However, you are responsible for preserving it, causing it to grow and flourish.

Milk and ModerationFor that reason, when 'Umar (ra) asked the Prophet (sa) about seeing milk in his dream, the Prophet (sa) told him it was "Islam" because like milk, Islam is pure, and just like a person, at least in those days, had to, you have to wake up early and work for milk and a person has to work for guidance - if one doesn't take care of it, it may spoil. It spoils when a person deviates by being too harsh or too easy.

So, the first step is to rely on Allah to guide you between the extremes of those who "earned punishment" and those who "went astray" by establishing the individual obligations. For that reason, you say a minimum of 17 times a day, "Guide us to the straight path." ("Us" here creates a collective responsibility. Hence, it invokes empathy -more to come on that later).

Ways to Preserve Balance (refrigerate your milk)1. Acquisition of beneficial knowledge2. Sitting with Scholars3. Community relations4. Avoid those who seek to split the community or speak ill of the scholars or workers - are overly harsh or easy on the masses.

On the last point, Imām al-Ghazzāzli said,

“If you see a person declaring others infidels and misguided, shun him and do not busy your heart or your tongue with him! Provocations in knowledge are undoubtedly from people’s nature, and the ignorant one is unable to exercise patience with them. And due to this, differences have multiplied amongst people. If knowledge was forcefully taken from the ignorant, then differences would subside.”

And Al-Hafidh al-Dhahabi [may Allah have mercy upon him] wrote,

“I heard our shaykh, Ibn Taymiyyah, d. 728 a.h, say towards the end of his life, ‘I will never declare anyone from the people of the qiblah (direction of prayer) as an infidel.’”

The Muwatta and BalanceWhen Imām Mālik was asked by the Caliph to write the Muwatta the Caliph requested,

"Write what brings the firmness of Ibn 'Umar (ra) and the ease of Ibn 'Abbas (ra)"

That is why the Muwatta holds such a hight status. It is a book of balance.

Balance Breeds SuccessWhen Ibn Sina was asked why he was so proficient at medicine, he said,

"I looked at an illness, examinging its causes and potential remedies. I would strive always to find a cure that was in the middle!"

Be Easy; We Are Growing!Today, as Western Muslim find themselves going through identification puberty - growing pains, we can expect to find folks on either the right or the left, sincerely trying to please Allah, staking a claim for their faith and community. It is important to be merciful to these people, offer advice in a sincere way and know that the subject of the advice is struggling the same.

When we understand that we are all struggling, that will create a greater sense of empathy. Allah says to the companions (ra), "You were once misguided (like them)." The goal is to please Allah and that is done by being balanced upon what the Prophet (sa) taught, uncompromising in those areas where we are ordered to submit, easy and merciful in the areas of ijtihad.

The Companions and GrowthWe are similar to the companions whom the Prophet (sa) ordered to pray 'Asr at Bani Quraydha. Some prayed it before they got there, fearing they would miss its time, clinging to the implied meaning of the Prophet's words, while others waited until they arrived, praying it after Maghrib, clinging to the literal meaning of the Prophet's words.

Appreciate Where We AreAt this juncture, we are sure to make mistakes - I'm sure to make mistakes, we must be soft when it comes to ijtihadat and firm on the qat'iyaat. This was echoed by al-Qarāfī who wrote,

“When you come upon a question with two opinions, one making things easy and the other difficult, you must not issue verdicts to the masses, seeking to make things hard on them, or to the specialized (scholars and people known for their worship and piety) or the rulers, seeing to make things too easy for them. Doing so is a sin in religion, hypocrisy and a sign that the heart is void of Allah’s magnificent glory.” Quoted by al-Hattab al-Maliki Mawaib al-Jalil vol. 1 pg. 32

May Allah grant us the strength of heart to be away from irrational conservatism and irresponsible liberalism. We ask him to grant us empathy with each other (even when we correct each other firmly), knowing that families argue, but they stay family.

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Some scholars and many zealous laymen claim that there is a consensus among jurists as to the prohibition of listening to any music with musical instruments. Some Imams say the opinion that allows it is a strange (شاذ) opinion, which is rejected as baseless by all prominent scholars and schools of thought. If this is true, how can so many Imams and scholars allow this new phenomenon of Islamic music using instruments?

Answer:

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة و سلام على رسول الله

In the name of Allah, and all praise and thanks is due to Allah, and may He send peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad

It is quite true that—historically—the prevalent (جمهور) opinion in Islamic jurisprudence regarding the use of and listening to musical instruments is that of prohibition (حرام). It is the official opinion of the four schools of thought, although various scholars from different schools held it is only disliked (مكروه) and many others deemed it permissible with the condition that the song is not immoral. It is not true that there is a consensus on it or that the opinion of permissibility is a strange opinion, which is a divergence from clear teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah. In today’s world there are a growing number of prominent scholars that allow listening to instruments that don’t accompany sinful poetry (song).

We will—with divine support—show that this issue is a matter of legitimate disagreement based on scholarly derivation and interpretation (اجتهاد). Unfortunately, one of the main reasons for this research is that there is actually a movement among modern scholars to dismiss, suppress, or misrepresent the opinion of permissibility!

There is a claim that no prominent scholars ruled for the permissibility of musical instruments except for Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who is purported to solely rely on a strange opinion of Imam Ibn Hazm. This is false. There are hundreds, dare I say thousands, of scholars who held the permissibility of listening to music as long as the song is morally upright. The following are some of the most prominent scholars (mujtahideen) in our history who, not only deemed it permissible, but in some cases wrote a whole research to prove it!

Some scholars try to say that many of these scholars were simply saying that it is permissible to listen to songs a cappella—and some of their works do make that point in addition to the permissibility of also using musical instruments. Each one of these references refers to the opinion of permissibility for songs with instruments.

The following are the juristic proofs used to illustrate prohibition and the response from the scholars who are not convinced by the evidence or who see the evidence in a different way:

From the Qur’an:There are two verses which are interpreted as justifying prohibition supporting the clearerhadith(narration) on the subject. They are as follows:

“There are some people who buydistracting/entertaining speechwithout knowledge in order to mislead people from the path of God…” (Qur’an31:6)

Only a couple out of the dozens of exegetes thought this had anything to do with musical instruments.

Many exegetes took the more common path of general meaning in the absence of an authentic text and said it refers to preferring or liking to listen to false speech, thus distracting one from Islam.

The vast majority of exegetes said it is talking about the singing ofjahiliyyah(pre-Islamic days). Imam al-Qurtubi said that this and the other verse are those that the scholars use as evidence for thedisliked(مكروه) nature of singing. Imam al-Qurtubi also narrates that this verse was revealed in the life of the Prophet ﷺ when a man bought a slave known for singing unIslamic songs ofjahiliyyah(ignorance).

Many exegetes pointed out a weakhadiththat is strengthened by the aforementioned circumstantial cause of revelation. The weakhadithstates:

“.لا يحل بيعُ المُغنّياتِ ولا شِراؤهنّ وثمنهنّ حرامٌ”

“It is prohibited to buy or sell women singers ofjahiliyyah. The price of such transaction is prohibited.”

The evidence for prohibition of Islamic Music in this verse is very weak. Any true scholar will surely admit that the verse is not evidence in and of itself; rather it is supportive to a couplehadithsand the position of many Companions.

The second verse is:

“(God is saying to Satan) Incite whoever you can among them with your voice…” (Qur’an17:64)

Some scholars from the early generations said this is literal and it means that Satan is whispering to us to follow him and disobey God as is mentioned in the famous verse in Surah Ibrahim, “I had no authority over you except that I called you and you followed me…” (Qur’an14:22). The great Imam oftafsir(exegesis) al-Tabari took the position as is his style that it is general and since there is no clear evidence specifying what is meant by “your voice” then it is taken literally and generally.

Many other scholars noted that the verse is talking about playing (لعب) and wasting time (لهو). Once again, no real scholar will claim that this verse in and of itself can be used to prohibit listening to music.

Let’s see what evidence we can find from the Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet ﷺ):

There is ahadithmentioned as an attachment (معلق) to a section in the authentic collection of Bukhari under the chapter of drinks #5590 titled those who seek permission of drinking alcohol by calling it another name. Imam al-Bukhari did not put the Hadith as an official Hadith in his authentic collection. According to Imam al-Muhallab the reason was because Hisham was not sure of the name of the companion (Al-Ibtal Al-Shawkani pg. 9) Thehadithgoes:

“There will be a group of people from my nation who will deem silk, alcohol and musical instruments as permissible…”

Somehadithscholars found a connected chain for this type ofhadith. The most famous is the book by Ibn Hajr in his book “closing the attachments” (تغليق التعليق). There are scholars who argued against his assertions, but even if we were to accept his findings about a connection between al-Bukhari and Hisham bin Ammar there is still a problem with Hisham as a narrator among some prominenthadithscholars.

There are many concerning issues with thishadith. According to Imam al-Thahabi in his famous 4-volume book Mizan al-I’tidaal which accounts for all the weak narrators he could gather. Imam al-Thahabi mentions that Hisham bin Ammar used to be a veracious narrator, then he changed. He has narrated 400 hadithsthat have no basis. He used to not narrate unless someone paid him. He was accused of changing the text. Imam Ahmad said he was reckless. Some narrated that he said the Qur’an has words from Gabriel and Muhammad ﷺ and is created speech.

Ibn Hajar acknowledges this, but justifies his ruling of thehadiththrough a different narration that has someone else narrating it other than Hisham. Thathadithvaries in text but does mention the people deeming musical instruments as permissible (which linguistically and logically doesn’t necessarily mean that it is prohibited). The next problem with thishadith,which is not solved by Ibn Hajar’s book, is a narrator named Atiyah bin Qays.

Atiyah bin Qays was a righteous man whohadithscholars agreed regarding his character and honesty (عدالة), but there is an issue among some scholars about his precision of memory and narrating (ضبط). Some famous scholars ofhadithcall him trustworthy (ثقة) just because he is a known pious man while the issue of his precision withhadithis unknown (مجهول). Some of them said although he is acceptable (far fromSaheeh) to be careful in narrating from him. This is mentioned by thehadithscholar Abu Hatem al-Razi in his book al-Jarh wa al-Ta’deel 2/37 and by Abu Bakr al-Bazzaar in his book Kashf al-Astar 1/106.

This is the best proof that the proponents of prohibition bring forth according to them. Otherhadithsare relying on this one. For example:

“There will be disgrace and defamation in this nation when they will drink alcohol and listen to music (literally female singers while beating on instruments).” (al-Suyooti al-Sagheer 7720)

Even a layman can see that the linguistic connotation does not in any way show a prohibition for listening to music, but rather a prohibition of the “party” scene. There are many otherhadithslike this one that show that the combination of alcohol and music is a shameful and immoral scene. On this fact there is a consensus among scholars. Even in the narration of the otherhadithseen as the strongest proof, there are variations which focus on drinking alcohol by a different name and don’t even mention musical instruments. Thus Imam Bukhari’s precise classification.

Many people feel that even though we see the issues in the proofs used for prohibiting music, still it is the official opinion of the 4 main schools of thought and that shows that it was clear to those scholars who know better than us. The assumption here is that every scholar from the different schools of thought over the centuries was amujtahidand was willing to challenge the opinion and evidence of his own school. This was simply just not the case as Dr. Mana’ al-Qattan narrates in his book on the history of legislation in Islamic history. He elucidates on the well-known unfortunate part of our history known as the closing of the doors to juristic reasoning (إغلاق باب الاجتهاد). For close to 8 centuries, most of the scholars passed down by memory and book most of the rulings of Islamic Law. For various reasons, they were uncomfortable with people changing or questioning popular rulings. Some of those who didn’t agree with this methodology like Ibn Taymiyyah (ra) or al-Suyooti (ra) were seen as dissidents. There is also some historical evidence that this ruling of prohibition of all music was heavily promoted toward the end of the Abbasi Caliphate because of the widespread immorality with music and drinking as many of thehadithsindicate. In my research, which really requires a whole book, there is more than meets the eye on the prevalence of the opinion prohibiting all instrumental music.

Proofs for the Permission of Good, Morally Upright Music:

There is a false claim that the Companions all prohibited it. Abdullah bin al-Zubair used to keep women playing guitars (lutes) and singing in his presence. (Idahaat al-Dalalat al-Nablusi 96)

There is no disagreement about the Ibrahim bin Sa’d bin Abdul Rahman bin Awf listening to songs with guitars (al-Sama’ Ibn Tahir 63)

Jews have always attributed music to Prophet David ‘alahi assalatu wassalam(peace and blessings be upon him). It is in the Bible, “The priests stood in waiting at their assigned places, along with the descendants of Levi who carried musical instruments used in service to the LORD that King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD—because his gracious love is eternal…” (2 Chronicles 7:6). So in the followinghadithand commentary we have some solid evidence for the praise of good music:

“يا أبا موسى ، لقد أوتيتَ مِزمارًا مِن مزاميرِ آلِ داود”

“Abu Musa, Surely you have been given a voice like the music of David.” (Bukhari 5048)

Many scholars want to say that thishadithis simply referring to a beautiful voice. When we look into Ibn Hajar’s explanation of thishadithhe comments with another soundhadith,“I entered Abu Musa’s house and I have not heard a cymbal, lute or a flute better than his voice.” (al-Fath)

The clear linguistic indication here is that the Prophet ﷺ is talking about musical instruments as though they are beautiful and delightful. That cannot be the case in something prohibited. It would be like him saying to his companion who earned a lot of money, “That’s even better than hijacking a caravan!”

Imam al-Thahabi’s recordings about scholars in his book on prominent Muslims. Here are two examples:

“Ishaaq al-Nadeem an Imam who was a great scholar master of many sciences. Known for music with untainted poetry…” (Siyar 11/118)

“Ulayyah sister of the commander of the faithful Haroon al-Rasheed ‘Well-refined poetessknown for singing and musicwith a pleasant voice.A modest pious women of precedence…’” (Siyar 10/187)

There arehadithsthat led many scholars from the schools of thought to permit listening to drums. Other prominentMalikisandShafi’ees(two different schools of thought) allowed trumpets, flutes and tambourines. Those are all musical instruments and the Islamic legal practice of analogy (قياس) allows other instruments in the absence of a clear text prohibiting them.

Whichever opinion you feel is stronger, you are welcome to follow. Please don’t judge someone else because they follow a different opinion than you. Our scholars teach us the following principle in dealing with law—there shall be no rebuking in matters of legitimate disagreement.

.لا إنكار في مسائل الاختلاف

Islam has a rich tradition of knowledge that by divine decree has differing interpretations as to the details of law. Only God owns the absolute truth.

If you choose to listen to music, observe piety and do not listen to immoral music or choose to be in immoral environments. There is no doubt that much of today’s music is prohibited by Islam and even some Islamic music still brings bad environments.